Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Analysis- Nik Lelifanovski

My assignment this week was to consider the theme of “State of
the University,” by Father Linnane, in relation to several other works. Fr. Linnane contends that people ought to strive
to improve themselves while also giving to the community. His speech inspired me to relate his message
to the common thematic elements of “Directions for Resisting the SAT,” by
Richard Hague, “First Practice,” by Gary Gildner, “Serving up Hope,” by
Stephanie Shapiro, and “A Father,” by Bharati Mukherjee. Each of these readings explores a common theme:
love and compassion bring meaning to the life of the individual.

In “Directions for resisting the SAT,” by Richard Hague, the
speaker ironically suggests that the experience of preparing and sitting for
the SAT might well inspire the reader to do great things with his life. The
last line of the poem is a challenge to readers to “make your marks on
everything.” This reminded me of the
portion of Father Linnanes’ speech when he said to strive to be successful. (Although what is success really?) The speaker and the poet each effectively
convey a similar message to young people but by using a specific subject to
which they can relate as an example of an opportunity for self-improvement.

The coach in “First Practice” by Gary Gildner craves that his
team be the best on the field. Similarly,
Father Linnane discusses how Loyola strives to be the best Catholic University.
While the coach tells his team that he
expects them to win with no exceptions, Father Linnane might rebut by saying
that the coach is too strict, as it is important not to become overly invested
in a particular outcome – such as triumphing over another.

In his speech, Father Linnane discusses contributing to the health
of the community. This notion relates to
“Serving up Hope” by Stephanie Shapiro, because the main characters help two
drug addicts to turn their lives around. The protagonists offer the former addicts
jobs, thereby helping to keep them out of trouble and to inculcate in them
necessary life skills. The couple
provides opportunities for the former drug addicts that they would have never
had without their help. Their
selflessness is indicative of Father Linnanes’ theme of helping others and
doing good works for those around you.

“A Father,” by Bharati
Mukherjee, recounts the difficulties of a father’s distant relationship with
his daughter, Balbi. The father
struggles to accept his daughter, who is not the perfect child he imagined. Although he prays to God each day for wisdom
and guidance, he is actually so focused on himself that when he finds out about
his daughter’s pregnancy outside of marriage, he beats her instead of supporting
her. According to Father Linnane, the
father in the story would actually improve himself and become more contented by
expressing, as difficult as it might be under the circumstance, compassion
toward his daughter and concern for her
feelings, rather than dwelling principally on what he prefers.